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The loadout is located 1.5 miles west /northwest of the town of Florence along Fremont County <br />Road 79. The permit area, the major drainages, and basin divides are shown on Maps 12 and 13 <br />of the PAP. <br />The USGS 7.5 minute quadrangle map that encompasses the mine site portion of the permit area <br />is entitled "Rockvale." The loadout is on the USGS 7.5 minute quadrangle map entitled "Canon <br />City." <br />History <br />Extensive historic mining disturbances characterize the general area of the Southfield Mine. In <br />1860 the first coal mine was opened in the northern portion of the Canon City Coal Field. <br />Production areas spread through the central area and into the southern portion of the coalfield in <br />the early 1900's. Over 177 abandoned mines with 600 acres of existing associated surface <br />disturbances have been identified by the Colorado Division of Reclamation, Mining and Safety's <br />Inactive Mine Reclamation Program. <br />Topography <br />The existing environment in the general area of the Southfield Mine is one of an arid, steppe <br />highland basin. The Canon City Coal Field /Basin lies in the transition zone between the foothills <br />of the Wet Mountains and the eastern Colorado plains, ranging from 5,500 to 8,000 feet. The <br />area can be characterized as a high plains mesa dipping gently to the east - northeast. The mesa is <br />dissected by several northeast trending ephemeral drainages. To the west and southwest of the <br />mesa are the Wet Mountains, where the drainages have their headwaters. The Wet Mountain <br />chain is fronted by a series of overthrust faults which results in pre- Cambrian materials <br />unconformably overlying overturned sedimentary units. <br />Erosion of the mountains has resulted in a pediment surface within the basin from 0 to 100 feet <br />thick. The action of several ephemeral and some perennial streams has cut through the pediment <br />surface, exposing the coal- bearing Vermejo Formation. This easily accessed coal has been <br />extensively mined for over 100 years, leaving many un- reclaimed spoils and waste piles. <br />Geology <br />Geological information is found in Sections 2.04.5 and 2.04.6 of the PAP. Below is a summary <br />of the geology for the Southfield Mine area. <br />The mine plan area is located along the east flank of the Wet Mountains adjacent to the axis of <br />the north plunging Chandler Syncline. The syncline parallels the trend of the Wet Mountain <br />Fault to the west. Strata on the northeast limb of the syncline dip gently to the west at <br />approximately 5 degrees. The southwest limb of the syncline dips very steeply, and in some <br />cases strata on this limb are overturned. Dips in the southwest limb range from 45 degrees NW <br />to 85 degrees overturned. The Wet Mountain Fault is comprised of pre- Cambrian granitic rocks <br />5 <br />